教育是世界发展进步的动力。我们在受益于现代教育的同时,是不是也应该回顾一下教育的起源和发展历史呢?
Education, the development of faculties1) by teaching, has always existed among men.
教育,即通过教学来促进能力发展的社会活动,一直存在于人类社会当中。
In Ancient Egypt and China 在古埃及和古代中国
The first examples of formal education are found in ancient Egypt, where the main subjects were writing, ethics, philosophy2), etiquette3), and gymnastics. On the other side of the world, schools were established in China by the 23rd century B.C. After the time of Confucius, education consisted of memorizing and reciting sacred4) writings. The purpose of education was to train men for public office.
正规教育的最早例子发现于古埃及,当时的主要科目设有写作、伦理、哲学、礼仪以及体育。在地球的另一端,中国的学校始设于公元前23世纪。自孔子时代开始,教育就是背记和吟诵先哲们的圣言善语,而教育的目的则是让男子日后可以求官谋职。
In Ancient Greece 在古希腊 
The modern idea of educating the individual developed in ancient Greece. The subjects taught in Athenian schools included poetry, music, reading, writing, drama, history, public speaking, science, and gymnastics. The Athenian schoolboy started off to school early in the morning. Behind him walked a servant carrying a lyre5) and writing tablets containing accounts of the adventures of the Greek heroes. In the morning the schoolboy worked hard at his books and exercised by hurling6) the javelin7), and at noon he attended a class in wrestling. In the afternoon, following a bath and a meal, the boy returned to school to study the ancient heroes and their ideas of justice, truth, and beauty. When school was over, the young Athenian was ready to dine and to go to bed. He never had any weekends, for the weekend had not yet been invented. The school closed its doors only on feast8) days.
When he was 16 years old, the schoolboy entered a state institution, where he practiced gymnastics and sharpened his mind in discussions with adults. The Greek ideal in education was "a sound9) mind in a sound body."
针对学生个体开展教育的现代理念发展于古希腊。雅典学校教授的课程包括诗歌、音乐、阅读、写作、戏剧、历史、公共演讲、科学和体育。一大清早,雅典的学童就起身去上学了。他的随行仆人帮他提着乐器里拉和刻有希腊英雄历险故事的写字板。上午,这名学童努力学习课本上的知识,并投掷标枪锻炼身体;中午的时候,他会上一堂摔跤课;下午,在洗完澡、吃过饭之后,他还要回到学校,学习古代英雄的事迹以及他们对正义、真理和美的理解。放学之后,这名雅典学童就该吃饭、睡觉了。他从没有任何周末,因为那个时候还没有“周末”的概念。只有在节日期间,学校才不用上课。
这名学童到了16岁后就会进入一所国家学院,在那里进行体育锻炼,并通过和成年人探讨问题来打磨自己的思想。古希腊人对教育的期望是“健康的身体保有健全的心智”。
In Ancient Rome 在古罗马
The Romans borrowed their ideas on education from the Greeks, but they tied education more closely to everyday affairs. Roman schoolboys entered a school of public speaking when they were 15 years old. Public speaking was valuable in a society that had no newspapers.
In the early Middle Ages the best schools were those established by the monasteries10). Teaching was concentrated at first on ethics and discipline, for the savage peoples who had conquered Rome were still uncivilized.
古罗马人借鉴了古希腊人的教育理念,但他们把教育与日常生活更加紧密地联系在了一起。古罗马的学生会在15岁时进入一所教授公共演说的学校。在没有报纸媒介的社会里,公共演说的价值不可小觑。
在中世纪早期,最好的学校通常都是由修道院开设的。这类学校的教学首要集中于伦理和戒律,因为当时征服罗马的都是尚未开化的蛮族。
Great Universities in the 12th Century 12世纪的著名大学
By the 12th century great universities, such as that at Paris, had been founded. Education was based on the thinking of men like Thomas Aquinas11) and Peter Abelard12). The universities brought together boys of 14 to men of 40 years of age from all over Europe. They supported themselves by begging or by working at odd jobs13). The subjects taught were theology14), medicine, law, and the arts. Schools were also established by institutions and by guilds15) to aid the poor, but in these schools only practical, everyday knowledge was taught.
12世纪时,一些著名大学相继成立了,比如巴黎的大学。当时的教育是建立在诸如托马斯·阿奎那以及彼得·阿伯拉尔等人的思想基础上的。大学里汇集了来自欧洲各地的14~40岁男子。他们通过乞讨或是打零工来维系自己的生活。大学中教授的科目有神学、医学、法律以及艺术。一些社会机构或是行业协会也都开办学校用以帮助穷人,但这类学校只教授一些实用的日常知识。
In Modern Times 在近现代
As a result of the Renaissance, education became more and more a state interest. The first state schools developed in Prussia at the end of the 18th century. The first public high school in the United States was established at Boston in 1821. In the United States one of education's purposes was the teaching of democracy16). These new state schools were also influenced by the Industrial Revolution. To subjects like mathematics, natural science, literature and language, social science, and history were added agriculture, commerce, and technical subjects.
Although modern education is based on that of the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, it is presented to students differently today. Education in those centuries meant monotonous17) memorizing. Discipline was extremely strict. An engraving18) of a late 18th century German school shows a cheerless school where two children are standing with their legs clamped19) together, two are being switched20), and two others are wearing dunce caps21).
This system of education was changed by people like Johann Pestalozzi22) who was a Swiss gentleman, Friedrich Froebel who founded the first kindergarten, Maria Montessori who invented the Montessori Method, and John Dewey who was an American philosopher. Not all the suggestions of these reformers were practical, but the general direction of their ideas was correct because they had a great liking for their students. They stressed the importance of an education that caters to23) every student's unique needs and learning styles, rather than education through punishment.
由于文艺复兴的影响,教育越来越成了一件关乎国家利益的大事。全世界第一批国立学校在18世纪末成立于普鲁士。美国的第一所公立高中于1821年成立于波士顿。在美国,教育的目的之一是普及民主的理念。这些新开的国立学校也受到了工业革命的影响,在原有的数学、自然科学、文学及语言、社会科学、历史等科目的基础上,又增设了农学、商学和一些技术性科目。
虽然近现代教育是基于17世纪、18世纪以及19世纪的教育而建立起来的,如今它却以完全不同的面貌呈现在学生面前。前几个世纪的教育意味着刻板乏味的死记硬背。学校的纪律也是极其严格的。一套有关18世纪末德国学校的版画描绘了这样一幅阴郁的学校场景:两个孩子站在那儿,腿被夹具紧紧地夹在一起;两个孩子正在接受鞭笞;另外两个孩子则头顶着“笨蛋高帽”。
这种教育体制的最终改变得益于许多人的共同努力:瑞士人约翰·裴斯泰洛齐、创办了第一所幼儿园的弗里德里希·福禄培尔、发明了蒙特梭利教学法的玛丽亚·蒙特梭利及美国哲学家约翰·杜威等等。这些改革者所提出的建议并非全都切实可行,但他们的理念在大方向上是正确的,因为他们都非常热爱自己的学生。他们强调根据学生的不同需求和不同学习风格因材施教的重要性,反对通过惩罚去教育学生。
Today's Education 今日教育
Education today still faces many challenges around the world. Many rural communities, especially in South America, Africa, and Asia, are very poor and struggle to afford to build schools and hire teachers. Even in relatively wealthy societies like the United States, severe discrepancies24) exist in quality of education.
Despite the challenges, education is seeing its brightest state in human history. Literacy25) rates are on the rise; an unprecedented number of students are taking advantage of higher education. The internet has made a wealth of26) information and educational materials readily27) available. Today's ease of travel has made studying abroad a popular option for countless students. While today's students may not have servants to carry their lyre and writing tablets, they do have more opportunities and resources than ever before.
今天的教育仍在世界范围内面临着许许多多的挑战。很多农村非常贫穷,一直挣扎在没钱建学校、聘老师的困境之中,南美、非洲和亚洲等地的情况尤为严重。即便是在像美国这样相对富裕的社会里,教育质量也存在着严重的分化。
纵使面临着这诸多挑战,教育却仍在经历着它自人类历史以来最为光明的时期。识字率在整体攀升;受益于高等教育的人数也是空前的。互联网提供的海量信息可以使人轻而易举地获取各种教育资料。旅行的便捷也使到国外留学成了无数学生的流行之选。今天的学生可能没有仆人为他们提着乐器里拉和写字板,但他们却有着比以往任何时候都多的教育机会和资源。
1. faculty [5fAkEltI] n. 能力;技能
2. philosophy [fI5lCsEfI] n. 哲学
3. etiquette [etI5ket, 5etIket] n.礼节,礼仪
4. sacred [5seIkrId] adj. 神圣的
5. lyre [5laIE(r)] n. 里拉(竖琴家族中的一种弦乐器,用来为歌手或朗诵诗歌的人伴奏,特别是在古希腊)
6. hurl [h\:l] vt. 猛投;力掷
7. javelin [5dVAvElIn] n. (打猎或作战用的)投枪;(田径运动中用的)标枪
8. feast [fi:st] n. 节日,节期(尤指宗教节日)
9. sound [saund] adj. 健康的;健全的
10. monastery [5mCnEstErI] n. 修道院,隐修院;寺院
11. Thomas Aquinas: 托马斯·阿奎那(1225?~1274),意大利神学家,欧洲中世纪经院哲学代表人物。他是自然神学最早的提倡者之一,也是托马斯哲学学派的创立者。
12. Peter Abelard: 彼得·阿伯拉尔(1079~1144?),法国著名的哲学家、神学家。
13. odd job: 零工
14. theology [WI5ClEdVI] n. 神学;宗教学
15. guild [^Ild] n. (中世纪的)行会,同业工会
16. democracy [dI5mCkrEsI] n. 民主;民主主义
17. monotonous [mE5nCtEnEs] adj. 单一得令人厌倦的;毫无变化的
18. engraving [In5^reIvIN] n. 版画;雕版印刷品
19. clamp [klAmp] vt. (用夹具等)夹紧;夹住
20. switch [swItF] vt. (用树枝等)鞭打
21. dunce cap: 笨蛋高帽(旧时学校中作为惩罚给成绩差的学生戴的一种圆锥形纸帽)。dunce [dQns] n. 智力迟钝的学生
22. Johann Pestalozzi: 约翰·裴斯泰洛齐(1746~1827),瑞士著名教育家。他试图通过教育来改善农民的生活,一生致力于让广大贫苦儿童接受初等教育。
23. cater to: 满足(需要或欲望)
24. discrepancy [dIs5krepEnsI] n. 差异,不一致
25. literacy [5lItErEsI] n. 识字,有文化
26. a wealth of: 很多的
27. readily [5redIlI] adv. 无困难地,容易地